Friends to Lovers
by Falcon457
Summary: All Luke (Zoroark) and Sam (Lucario) stories in the correct order, told from Sam's perspective.
1. Two new friends

Putting on one of my many hoodies and heading towards my door, I pick up whatever money I could find laying around and head out. To be honest, it had been a while since I left my apartment; about a week, I more prefer to stay indoors than be outside often. I'd spent the entire week just playing online games all day, hoping that I'd find at least a friend who I could get along with one day, however, I was constantly just too shy to try and talk with others. Unlocking my door, clutching a £10 note in my hand, I headed out and left my apartment towards the local burger joint. There wasn't really anything left in my house besides some leftover pizza which had gone stale making it a miracle I've managed to maintain my slender appearance for so long with how much I eat and how infrequently I head outside.

The cold, near Winter weather, made me shiver even with a thick hoodie on and my blue, grown fur to fit the temperature. From what I could tell it had gotten somewhat colder than last year as it was near freezing temperatures now, at least I get more of an excuse to be in blankets all day. Well, not that much has changed with that. Finally, after a long walk, I enter through the glass doors of the burger place and find a table to sit before going and ordering a simple chicken burger. They only had tables that could seat 2-6 people, so, I found a table for two in the corner of the restaurant. As I waited for my meal, I messed around on my phone for a while before my food was carried over to my table. Beginning to eat my food, I notice a lone Zoroark wearing a bright pink coat with fur lining the hood and a cyan soft scarf entering the burger joint. At first, I didn't take much notice to him, he was just a normal customer from all I've seen, and the only thing making him stand out was his bright clothing. Nothing too special. In the middle of taking a bit out of my burger, I was suddenly interrupted by the sound of someone sitting beside me. Looking over in confusion, I recognised the person as the same Zoroark who wore the pink coat and blue scarf, looking over at me with a small but friendly smile and what looked like a slight blush in his expression. I had hardly an idea of what to say, luckily, he explained before I had a chance.

"Sorry about just this, you just looked a little lonely and I thought I'd come over and say hi to you." He said in a soft tone, looking over at me with his deep blue eyes. I wasn't really sure what to say, frankly, I was embarrassed and nervous as this had never happened before. Realising there was nothing I could do except say things, I worryingly tried to introduce myself with everything I knew about social situations but the words mostly just stumbled out of my mouth.

"O-Oh, hey! Sorry, I'm not really good with introductions, but my name is Sam. Sorry I talk too fast I can get pretty shy when it comes to people and stuff." The words just about forming a sentence as I'm riddled with anxiety over a simple introduction. "Sorry I talk too much. Am I saying sorry too much?" Finally finishing what attempt I made at conversation and an introduction.

He looked at me and chuckled lightly. He didn't mind the fact I messed up so badly. "Do you always introduce yourself like this?" He responds, jokingly.

"No, not usually. No." I answer, anxiously laughing a little, with him also laughing with me. I couldn't understand why he was being so friendly to me; is this is just how conversations go? I haven't had any friends since the end of Primary School. Now being 17, that was a really long time ago.

He extends a paw towards me. "My name's Luke, it's nice to meet you, Sam."

I take his paw and shake it, probably holding it for a few seconds too long after. "I-It's nice to meet you too, Luke," I say, before taking another bite out of my burger and then "Aren't you hungry?"

"No, not really. I usually just come here to get a drink but I wasn't too thirsty." Admittedly, he looked pretty cute scratching the side of his neck as he said this but I tried to push that thought away.

After regaining my composure and taking a deep breath, I ask: "Then why are you here if you didn't plan to eat or drink anything?" He suddenly just awkwardly stays quiet like he wasn't expecting a question like that or didn't know how to respond making me worry. "Did I say something wrong?"

"N-No, I just..." His face turning a deep red. "I was walking by and I saw you alone, I just wanted to give you company." He answered, making my face blush a little too. "Sorry, I was actually on my way somewhere before I came in here, I'm gonna have to leave now, hold on."

My anxiety slowly starting to appear once more, I was enjoying his company, and I didn't want it to end like this. This was the closest I've been to someone other than my parents or people in a game for the past few years and I didn't want them to just leave like this, but, I just had to accept that. The Zoroark had his back to me and looked like he was messing with something, I couldn't tell what it was though. Even if it was a short interaction, I would still miss-

"Here's my number, just thought I'd give it to you since you seem fun, and, well... I haven't really had someone to talk to before so, here." Turning around and handing me a small note with a phone number, leaving me surprised. "I'll hopefully see you later, Sam. Give me a call, I'm usually free."

"Y-Yeah, see you later, Luke. I'll try." He gives a small wave in my direction well looking back at me with that adorably friendly smile and light blush from before, leaving the burger joint.

After finishing my burger, I headed out back towards my apartment. It had started raining when I left, so I had to walk back to my apartment covered in rain in a regular, dark grey hoodie. Fumbling with my keys I finally got into my apartment, about 2 hours had passed since I left earlier. Taking off my hoodie and resting on my slightly uncomfortable sofa before picking up my phone to see I had received a text from the nice Zoroark I met at the burger place.

"Hey man! I just got home. I was wondering if there was a chance that maybe we could hang out tomorrow somewhere. It's not common I really go places with, as I said, I haven't really had anyone to talk or hang out with so I was hoping we could do that sometime? See you soon!"

Finally seeing something on my phone, besides my alarm in the morning, was something nice. It was really the first text I'd received in a long while and it made me happy.

"Hey, Luke. I was happy to see your text today, so thanks for that I guess. I don't really have my own home, I just live in an apartment a couple streets down from the burger joint we met at. I'd be happy to hang out with you tomorrow, possibly around 4 pm? We could meet back up at the burger joint if that's alright with you. Also just wanted to say you have a really nice coat. Well, that's it for now, so, see you later."

Rereading it a few times over, I finally sent it to him before taking a deep breath and laying back and putting my phone down on the somewhat dusty sofa. I was pretty happy I had someone I could call my friend and someone I could actually hang out with. I would've just sat indoors all day but I had a reason to get up in the morning and I was glad. I felt anxious about meeting up with him again, we only had a short interaction. What if he finds me weird or annoying? Pushing those thoughts the back of my head was pretty easy, I'd learnt how to ignore those thoughts after being alone for so long but something was about to change for me. I was happy.


	2. The Lake Hangout

"Hey, Sam! 4 pm sounds pretty good! I got an idea to head out to a lake I know near the burger place we went to yesterday if that's alright with you. If you do agree, then you should probably wear something pretty warm, like a coat or gloves. If you don't, I can bring a scarf or something nice for you. Hope to hear from you soon!"

Oh yeah, I was going to meet up with Luke at the burger place today... Slowly pushing myself out of bed, I sit up and check my phone, it was almost half past 3 in the afternoon. Getting out of bed, I gradually and sleepily head out of my dusty, cluttered bedroom. I walk through my living room and into my kitchen before taking a look in my fridge. I forgot I didn't have any food, I really need to go out and buy food sometime but today is not that day.

"Hey, again, Luke. I may have run out of food and if it's alright with you for us to order takeout from the burger place? Sorry. Also, could you bring me a scarf and a coat? I don't own a scarf, and my only coat is a little torn and missing its hood. I hope this isn't too much to ask." I really hope he didn't find me weird or anything- Wait, why should he, it's just a coat, but what if he thinks I'm violent or something if he thinks it happened in a fight? My thoughts are quickly interrupted by another phone notification.

"That's alright, Sam! I'll grab those on my way out, don't worry, I won't let my only friend be cold for our first hangout together. I'm gonna start heading out towards the burger place. Meet you there!" "Only friend"? To be honest, for someone who was as friendly as him, I would've assumed he had his own group of friends. I hadn't thought about that until now. I guess I shouldn't have assumed that. I finally left my apartment, locking my door and heading out to the burger joint again. The near Winter weather was freezing, even over my soft fur, I hadn't taken a hoodie, or anything to keep me warm. As I'm nearing the burger place, I see the Zoroark I had met the day before waiting by the doors of the building, holding another neon pink coat and bright cyan scarf. He was wearing the same as he had over his arm; an adorable neon pink coat and a bright cyan scarf. I don't think he noticed me yet. I quickly take a look at myself, brush over the fur on my head with my paw and start heading towards him. As I'm walking over to him, he notices me before I say anything. He flashes a happy, open smile in my direction before waving over at me.

"Hey, Sam! It's nice to see you!" He says, with a warm smile and a slight blush in my way. "How have you been, dude?"

"H-Hey, Luke! Nice to see you too. I'm g-good. A little cold." I responded nervously, shivering from the cold as I wasn't really wearing anything.

"Oh yeah, I brought you these to wear." He hands me over the neon pink coat and cyan scarf, and I quickly try to put it on, messing up from trying to put it on so fast. The coat felt so snuggly to wear as if I had just put on an especially soft blanket. The scarf felt the same, fitting around my neck comfortably, it felt as if something had come up behind me and gently cuddled my neck from behind. I utterly loved these.

"Th-Thank you! I love these, thank you so much!" I catch myself, but all it did was make me panic, and I start being filled with anxiety, again. "O-Oh is this... Am I being weird to you? Sorry."

"Not at all. You not weird to me at all, don't worry. I'm really happy you like the clothes!" He answers, with a slight, but playful, cute laugh and soft smile.

My anxiety rushing back away with his reply. "Oh, that's... That's great. Thanks. I'm really glad. Do you want to get something to eat then?"

"Alright. I haven't really been to this place before beside yesterday to... talk to you and see if you were lonely." His face turning a slight red with him looking away in embarrassment, obviously trying to hide it.

Seeing him being embarrassed like this was admittedly pretty cute, making me blush a little back. "W-Well, alright then." I walk back into the burger joint once more with Luke travelling close behind me. I order a chicken burger like the day before and a medium-sized cup of cola. Luke hesitates on ordering for a moment before picking the same as me. As we wait for our food next to the counter, a waiter comes round with the two, small boxes containing our food and 2 cups for our drinks.

"You two have fun on your date!" The waiter says before leaving back behind the counter, leaving us both surprised and extremely embarrassed in the middle of the burger place.

"W-We're not dating..." I say quiet enough that only anyone directly next to me could hear it, like Luke. I mean, I know we're wearing the exact same with cosy cyan scarves and neon pink coats, ordering food together... Actually, it probably would look like we're dating which made me a lot more embarrassed than before.

"Sh-Should we go out to the lake n-now? He blurts out, looking straight forward with a really embarrassed expression and heavy blush.

"I-I think we should." I agreed, and we both headed towards the exit of the burger place, clutching our meals in our paws. The Zoroark took me through a path in between a forest a few roads down from the burger joint as we both tried to forget what happened a few minutes earlier. At the end of the path, there was an opening in the trees, surrounding a beautiful, glistening lake. The water was going in separate directions through other parts of the forest. There was nobody else around, it was only us here. "Th-This place is amazing! It's really relaxing and wonderful to look at. How didn't I ever find this place?"

He quickly answered with: "I found this place a couple weeks ago, there's never anyone around here. I usually sit here to relax and think to myself, it's really nice around here. I've just wanted to show this place to someone, even if I only met you yesterday, I've never been able to introduce myself to someone. You were the first person I saw alone in there, and you did actually look pretty interesting to talk to." He takes me over to near the edge of the lake, and we sit close to each other and take out our food as he stares across the lake. "I guess the reason I already feel really trusting of you is, as I said in that text to you, I haven't really had a friend before. Is it alright to call you my friend?"

I had no idea what to say so I went with what seemed easiest to say. "Y-Yeah... I'd be happy to call you my friend, Luke." Even though I've only known him since yesterday, I already felt really trusting towards him too. I'd never had someone open up to me with something like that and I was pretty happy I could be there for him. He seemed pretty confident when I first met him, but now, he completely lost his confident appearance and opened up a shell of adorable softness within him in such a short amount of time. It... It was actually pretty cute seeing him like this. Wait. Cute? Why do I find him cute? I mean, I think I thought it before, but I never took any notice to it. Admittedly, he did look pretty cute but, now isn't the time to think that. "I haven't really had any friends like this for years, I hardly went out and talked to people when I got my own apartment. Even before that I hardly knew anyone and kept to myself whenever I was around others. I-It's honestly really nice to have a friend like you." The words making me slightly embarrassed as I say them. "S-So, thanks for that."

"It's alright. It's really nice to have a friend like you too, Sam." He replies, looking back over at me with a really tender, warm and loving smile. I felt like if it was possible, his light blue eyes would be sparkling right now. "Should we start eating then?"

"Well, alright, my soft buddy." I take a bite out of my burger while looking out over the glistening lake before noticing that Luke hadn't actually taken a bite out of his food. In fact, he seemed to have just stopped moving and was holding his food in front of him. Acknowledging that fact, I look over to him to realise his face was a deep red and he was unmoving. "A-Are you alright!? Did I do something wrong?"

He still didn't move besides saying: "N-No, I just... I-I really wasn't expecting that."

"S-Sorry, I shouldn't have..." He quickly interrupts me and looks back at me.

"It's alright, don't worry. I... I like that nickname a lot, Sam." He looks back at the water and takes a bite out of his food, trying to hide the obvious blush in his face.

"I-I'm glad you do, Luke," I say, taking another bite out of my burger, noticing the blush the Zoroark was obviously trying to hide. "I didn't expect that kind of reaction from you."

"Well, I wasn't expecting you to say something like that, my fluffy, Lucario friend." His reply made me laugh and blush a little back. I hesitate for a moment before placing my paw on his head and just ruffle his long, red, soft hair and give him a gentle pat on the back happily before taking another bite. We each finished our food and drinks while looking over the lake, sometimes throwing stones in the lake for fun. We spoke for up to an hour after this, the longest conversation I've had in a long time.

"It's been really fun being here with someone, Sam. I've really enjoyed it, especially here with you. You're really nice to talk with and I liked today." He says happily and with a friendly expression on his face.

"Yeah, I think this is the most fun I've had with someone in a really long time. This has been great." I respond back. I really was happy, I'd never done anything like this in possibly several years, it had only been a day but I already really enjoyed his company and I was glad I met him. Even if I had a few anxious thoughts throughout, they disappeared every time he said anything or showed his warm smile. I felt happy and safe with him. I guess since I hadn't had any friends before this, he would already be my best friend, but from how I overall felt about him, if I had any other friends, I would consider him my favourite. Nobody had really been this friendly to me before and I enjoyed it.

"It's getting pretty late now, even though it may only be quarter to 6, you know it can get really dark quickly this late in the season." He says, looking a little tired. I was carried away in conversation, I never noticed how dark it'd gotten.

"Oh yeah, it really has gotten dark, hasn't it? I wasn't really paying attention. I'm guessing we should head back?" I respond, acknowledging that it was pretty much nearly pitch black outside.

"Alright, let's get back to the burger place. We might as well find a bin to put our food boxes and cups in." He answers, looking up at the dark sky. We head back towards the path and make our way towards the burger joint. Once we arrive at the burger joint he looks happily at me and I ask him what I've been wondering since we left the forest.

"Should I give you your coat and scarf back? I pretty much got used to the feeling of its comfort but now I remember I'm actually wearing it, it's feeling really soft again." I ask, clutching onto the scarf comfortably wrapped around my neck.

"It's alright, Sam. You can keep the coat and scarf, I don't want you going back home to your apartment in the cold and this was a spare I owned, I have no use for two coats and scarves anyway." He replies, as we walk and find a bin to put our food boxes and cups in.

"O-Oh, thanks! Like I said before, I didn't have a coat or a scarf to wear so this is pretty good for me to have during late Autumn. So, thanks again. I guess this would be goodbye then?" I say, a little disappointed as I really wanted to continue talking with him.

"I wouldn't mind walking you back to your apartment." He quickly offers, leaving me in relief and surprise.

"O-Oh, you really don't have to. I know it's getting dark and all..." I explain back, even though I wanted to walk back with him.

"It's alright, I'd be happy to walk you back. Don't worry about the dark." He replies without any hesitation. I was pretty glad about his answer.

"If you say so then. Thanks, I'm happy to have you keep me company on my way back." We make our way back to my apartment, he had to follow me, of course, since he didn't know where I lived. Once we make it back to the entrance of my apartment, I start to say my goodbyes to him. "Thank you, really, Luke. I-It's been really fun talking to you today. Honestly, there are so many things I want to thank you for."

"I'm really happy we could spend time together too, it was amazing finally being able to be in that place with someone else, especially someone as great as you." He says back, making me blush at his reply.

"S-Same to you too. I think I should get inside now, it's already past 6." I respond back to him, knowing that I didn't want to leave him but I knew I had to.

"Well, alright, Sam. It's been really fun today." He happily says back. "I have one more thing I want to do though."

Curiously, I ask: "What is it?" As soon as I finish speaking, he suddenly pulls me into a long and close hug. Luckily the soft coat stopped my chest spike from hurting him. I really wasn't expecting this so sudden. Hesitantly, I embrace him in my arms too, pulling him close to me. My face was pressed up against his comfy chest, even with the coat on, from him being taller than me by several inches. After what felt like forever, we let go of each other and I look back up the Zoroark to find him blushing heavily from the hug. It was pretty obvious that the whole experience left a pretty heavy and noticeable blush on my face too.

"There it is. I just wanted to do that to you as thanks for being a great friend to me today." He explains to me, happily.

"I-It's alright, Luke. I really hope we can do something again, tomorrow if that's alright with you." I say, the words barely even managing to escape from my mouth.

"Of course! I'd love to do something with you tomorrow. If you want, maybe I could head round to see your place and we can watch a movie or something." He offers to me.

"O-Oh! Alright then. I'd love to do that" I answer, secretly nervous about what he'd think of my apartment. "I think I better head in now, see you tomorrow, Luke. Have a safe journey home!"

"Thanks, and goodbye to you too. I will don't worry. See you tomorrow!" He says back with a quick wave and I wave back towards him as he leaves the apartment to make his way back to his house. After he's out of sight, I turn back into my apartment building and start making my way to my place. Eventually, I make it back to my apartment and unlock the door, entering the room as I take my new coat and scarf off, hanging them carefully in my wardrobe among all my other shirts and hoodies laid messily at the bottom, not even hung up. I make my way into my bed, sure, it was pretty early but I felt exhausted from what had happened and wanted to go to sleep. Admittedly, that wasn't the only reason I wanted to sleep early, I wanted to be able to meet up with Luke again the next day as soon as I could. Once I got settled in my bed, I started to doze off with thoughts and memories of Luke as I wondered what would happen in the following days. After a minute of pondering over it, I finally doze off into a comfortable sleep, feeling the happiest I'd felt in years.


	3. The Movie

_***Sorry for the long delay! Having issues with sticking to the stories but this is finally finished and trying to get more into writing.***_

Checking my phone, I notice it's 6 am instead of late in the afternoon, I felt somewhat refreshed waking up instead of feeling tired while sitting up. Oh yeah, I managed to sleep early for once in my life yesterday.

I stand up out of my bed and walk over to my wardrobe, opening it I see the pink coat and cyan scarf I was given the night before by Luke. Looking at the coat for a few seconds, I started to smile a little, remembering the night before when I had sat with Luke over near the lake.

As I pick the coat up in my arms, I remembered the moment we hugged at the end of the night before he went back home, blushing at the thought. I was still unsure of why he did it, but I really enjoyed being in his arms.

I take the scarf and coat with me and leave the bedroom, gently placing it over on my sofa and heading back into my kitchen before walking straight back out, again, remembering I didn't have any food. I should ask Luke later if I could go and buy myself food. I really hope he doesn't mind.

Well, for now, we're still going to watch a movie together. I never asked what we'd be watching tonight. I guess I'll probably find out when he gets here. I'm excited and incredibly nervous to see him again. Since I woke up early for once, I decided to text him to see if he had woken up yet. Picking up my phone, I start to message him.

"Hey, Luke. I woke up early for once. Just checking to see if you're up yet, I was wondering if I could maybe go out to buy things, not going to the burger joint again so I can buy normal things for the week. I haven't really had breakfast for a few days. I hope to hear from you soon!" I read it over a few times before deciding it would be good to text and I send it to him. I quickly put my phone down, anxiously waiting for a reply.

"Good morning, Sam! Don't worry about it, I'm always happy to talk to you. I woke up not that long ago anyway. The movie I picked for us to watch is just some generic horror movie I found online, nothing special. I still hope you enjoy it though! It's alright if you want to go and buy things. If you want, I can come with you, if that's fine with you."

A rush of relief goes through my body as I finish reading his text. I start to text him again.

"To be honest, it's just a little new for me to wake up this early. I might just head out to the shop for some food, if you want, you can meet me there. If that isn't an issue for you. Sorry if I'm asking too much."

In a matter of seconds, I get a text back.

"Oh, sure! I can meet you there. I'm just currently sat in my bedroom. I don't really do anything all day besides, maybe, go out to that lake we went to yesterday. I'll get dressed and start heading there now. See you there, Sam!"

Putting my phone in my coat pocket, I head towards the door of my apartment. For once in my life, I felt excited to leave for someone, but, at the same time, I was nervous, there never was a time where I wasn't nervous. What if he hated me over something? What if he didn't really want to see me and agreed to have something to do? I mean, he said he doesn't do much anyway.

I quickly tried to dismiss these thoughts, not with reason, just pushing them back into a deeper area of my mind. I wiped off my paws on my coat seeing as they had become damp out of anxiousness.

I placed my hands on the door handle and opened the door, ready for whatever awaited me today with my new friend.

Leaving my apartment, I start walking in the opposite direction from the burger joint towards the shop I was going to meet Luke at. My paws were cold in this weather, even with the fur, so I burrowed my paws into my coat pockets. My paw spike things blocking me from entirely fitting my paw in, it was enough for now, at least.

I could see my destination in the distance, only a short walk there and I'd be there. The path there was mostly empty, besides a few people passing by occasionally. It's not like I lived in the middle of nowhere, there were apartment buildings lining the side of the pavement I was on. On the other side of the road, there wasn't much. There were some restaurants, and maybe some small specific shops around.

Walking down the street towards the shop I wanted to enter, I was surprised by someone yelling my name from behind. I turn around, he's there- Luke is there. He waves happily towards me, I wave back. I feel the familiar feeling of my paws dampening even with the cold air surrounding us.

He walks over towards me; I quickly wipe my paws down my coat (which does not help at all) and nervously walk over to him too.

"Hey, Sam! How are you doing?" He said with that nice, trusting, and friendly smile he had.

"Hey, Luke! I-I'm doing pretty good." I say in return, a half-forced smile on my face. I was happy to see him again, but at the same time, I couldn't shake the common feeling I'd mess something up.

"That's great! I'm happy to hear that." Every time he spoke, I felt a little better inside. I'm not sure if it's just how friendly or how soft his voice is, I felt a little more comfortable in everything he said.

We walked together toward the shop, talking about how our day had been so far. Not much had happened, of course, since it was the beginning of the day. He told me about the movie he'd bought. It was nothing special, some generic horror movie. I didn't care too much about it. I was just happy to spend more time with him. A movie sounded fun, regardless of the quality. Well, it obviously would matter a little. Regardless, I get to hang out with him again.

We arrived at the shop and looked around for dinner tonight. The shop was decently big, but it didn't take long to find food. I bought a normal box of pepperoni pizza and a 2-litre bottle of diet soda. Luke agreed to share the drink and pizza but also bought himself a bottle of water and a small pack of sandwiches. He told me he usually bought these whenever he came here to buy himself food. I guess we'd be the same, I always bought cheap sandwiches here when I wanted them.

Luke offered to pay for the food, however, I told him I already had money on me, and I insisted I'd pay for all of it. We each left the shop; I was carrying a plastic bag holding all the food we had bought.

"What does your apartment look like?" Luke suddenly says, reminding me of the state of my apartment. It was messy at the moment, well, always messy. I wouldn't say it was a nice place to stay in, but it's cheap at least.

I worriedly answer back. "It's... decent. To be honest it's not the best place but I hope you're okay with four messy rooms and pizza boxes everywhere." I say, half joking.

"Hey don't worry. That's the basic description of my room." He replies. We laugh a little at our own jokes before it gets quiet again. "But really, what is your apartment like?"

"Well, I wasn't lying about the boxes. I-I'm not too good at cleaning up. Or well, I never get the motivation to clean. I suppose it's decent for now. Most of the time I just sit down on my sofa reading or using my laptop. It's not really a nice place. I-I'd understand if you didn't like it."

He makes me feel a little better about my messy apartment. "I really don't mind what it'll look like. I'm just happy to be able to spend time with you again."

His response made me feel a little flushed. We finally got back to my apartment. I rushed inside and quickly entered my room. It looked worse than I remembered. There were bins beside the degrading sofa, filled to the brim with empty soda bottles, microwaved food packets and a variety of pizza boxes, some still with leftover pizza slices inside. I felt Luke's arm fur brush up against me as he entered my apartment.

"Oh, nice place!" Luke exclaimed, carefully looking over my apartment. It surprised me but made me feel a little better, nonetheless. "It is a little messy, but I don't really mind." He was right; however, it didn't stop me from feeling embarrassed.

"Yeah... Sorry, but thanks." I said back, looking around the apartment hurriedly and nervously. Even the sink in the kitchen was filled with unclean dishes. The only decently clean room was my bedroom which I tidied up occasionally.

I decided to take Luke around my apartment, starting in the kitchen. Like before, the kitchen had a lot of unclean dishes. "This... This place is pretty messy." I say, laughing nervously. Luke chuckled back softly. He opened my fridge, looking slightly concerned at the complete lack of food in the fridge. There were a few cartons of milk and a few bottles of near-empty diet sodas but hardly any food at all.

"You don't have any food in the fridge?" Luke queried, looking up at me from his crouched stance.

"Ah, well, no. I usually just rely on delivery." I answered, brushing the fur on my arm in my paw.

Luke's expression changed to a tender, reassuring look. "Well, it's alright! We already bought things, and I'm willing to share if you need more." I hadn't really bought anything in a while, but his smile and reassuring look gave me a comfortable and warm feeling.

"Oh, thanks! You don't have to though. It's alright." I said back, just wanting to be kind.

"The offer still stands whenever!" He said in a joking tone, placing a smile on my face.

"Heh, still, thanks, man," I replied happily, taking a bottle of soda from the bag we brought the drinks and food in. "Oh yeah, do you want a drink?"

"Oh, sure. Thanks!" Luke accepted with a welcoming smile. I opened one of my white, bland cupboards and took out two clear glass cups and placed them on the counter, opening the bottle and filling our cups with soda. I mostly only ever drank from cans or bottles so most of my cups were clean, so that's handy.

Luke took hold of his own cup with his clawed paws and taking a small drink. "Thanks again, Sam."

"No problem, dude," I replied, a warm, nervous feeling arising in my chest.

Luke took quick notice of my nervous expression. "Are you alright, Sam? You look kinda worried."

I quickly realised I was almost blushing. "Oh! No, no, don't worry, I'm alright." Luke took another sip of his soda, nobody was really saying anything, so I decided to ask what I had been curious about for a while. "Oh yeah, what movie are we watching?"

"Apocalypse of the Damned: 2," Luke answered, in a frustrated tone. "I know it's awful, bad movie sequels, whatever. There wasn't really much of an option from where I rented it from." He finished, looking down with a disappointed expression. "Works as good background noise though!" Luke completes, recovering with a small half-joke.

"Anything is fine, even if it's an awful sequel," I reply, half-jokingly too.

"Absolutely," Luke says back, chuckling a little. "I wanted to check out your bedroom before we do anything." He asked, walking back from the Kitchen and gesturing for me to follow with a small wave.

"Oh, sure. That's okay." I followed Luke to my bedroom, walking past the messy table and placing our cups down to finish later. Luke and I opened the door to my room. The far curtains were drawn open, cold sunlight shun through the cracks in the blinds.

Luke glanced around my bedroom, taking in everything he saw. "Your room is a lot cleaner than the living room and the kitchen," Luke says, sitting down on my rose-coloured duvet.

Sitting beside him, I answered back, chuckling nervously "I guess I just clean here the most."

Luke chuckled back softly. "It's fine, I like it here." Luke softly and subtly inched his paw and brushed it against mine. I don't know if it was intentional, but it shot a single nervous tingle throughout my body for a moment. It felt nice and warm regardless.

"It's really nice!" Luke exclaimed. "It seems pretty big for one person though." He added on.

"I guess I just prefer it like this. It's more comfortable and has a lot more stretching space." I replied.

"Hah, alright, that's fine." He said, clutching the duvet in his paws. "Anyway, should we go watch the movie?" He continued, standing up from the bed.

I stood up too, replying "Oh, sure, alright." before heading out of the room with Luke back into the living room.

I went over and sat down on the sofa as Luke went and put the movie in a DVD player. Luke switched on the TV and as he came back to sit beside me, I changed the channel to play the movie. The movie played without much issue, besides the movie itself being expectedly bad. We spent about 10 minutes of it picking out any problems and plot holes we could notice before I thought of something we could do.

"Hey, Luke?" I asked, looking up to him sat beside me.

"Yeah, what's up?" He replied, looking back down to me.

"What if we asked questions to each other? I mean, to get to know each other better, I guess." I explained, a little nervous. He could just find the idea ridiculous, but I don't see why he would be the feeling was still there.

"Sure! Should I go first? I'm fine with whatever." He asked in return, lifting a little nervousness off my shoulders.

"Oh, well, if you'd want to," I answered.

"Okay, I've got something I've been curious about. What do you do usually in the week?" He questioned once more. I wasn't too sure how to answer him, I never really did anything at all. I slightly shuffled in my seat.

"Honestly not much. I just sit around on my laptop for most of the day or watch Netflix or whatever. I guess occasionally I go out to the shops to buy things but that's about it." I responded. Answering like this worried me a little, I hardly do anything so what I'm just, too lazy or pathetic for him. "Well, what about you?"

Luke smiled and replied. "That's fine. I usually just sit around on my PC, or I often go out to buy things or go out to that lake we visited together." Luke stated, crossing his arms peacefully. "Going out to restaurants or just going on walks is a nice thing to me but most of the time I'm just sat at home."

"Oh, alright then. Your week is a lot more interesting than mine." I responded, joking a little but trying maybe a bit too hard not to seem anxious that I hardly do anything.

I guess Luke notice my worrying as he put his softly furred paw on my shoulder. "Really, it's fine," Luke said with a carefree smile. "Mine's hardly that different anyway."

"Yeah, that's true," I replied, picking at the fur on my wrist tensely. "Well, uhm, what music do you like?"

"I guess just around, musical theatre things I suppose. Other than that, I can hardly tell because it's so, non-specific, I guess. I listen to slow or relaxing music. Not too sure how to explain it." He answered, ruffling with the long ends of his hair.

"Oh, I-I guess I'm the same. I just like whatever I can find that sounds good."

I responded back, a little distracted by how fluffy and thick looking his curled-up hair was.

"Hah, nice. I could probably introduce you to my favourite music artists." He said.

"Wait, like, in person?" I asked, a little confused.

"Pfft, obviously not. Though I wish it was like that." He responded.

"Oh, hah. Yeah. I, uhm." My slight smile fading as I remembered something important. Something had been pressing on my mind for a while, though as much as it worried me, I did really want to ask him about it.

"Oh, yeah-" I'm saying oh too much, aren't I? Oh right, it's not even my turn to ask a question.

Luke snaps me out of my anxiety with a quick and simple "Mm?" as I remember I actually have to finish my sentence.

"I, uhm, never mind. It's not my turn to ask." I quickly stumbled out, my hands clamming up.

"If you want to ask something, I'd be happy to listen."

"Oh, well, okay." I finally exhaled. "Is it okay if I ask a kind of personal question?"

"Sure, I'm okay with anything." Luke leant back, laying comfortably on the sofa as the sun had begun to set noticeably. Orange, darkening light filled the room.

I hesitated a moment before asking: "I think you told me I was your only friend yesterday. Is-Is that true?"

Luke sat there for a moment, considering his answer. "I- Yeah... I never had much opportunity to make friends. I didn't go out much and I was home-schooled for almost most of my childhood and in the last few years I did try public school, I didn't really know anyone to make friends." His answer made me regret my decision to ask, but he continued. "Because of all of that, I didn't really gather any social skills to make friends. To be honest, I was really nervous talking to you when we meant."

"Oh, uhm, sorry if that question bothered you." I apologised.

"Don't worry about it, it's alright. It doesn't bother me." He reassured me. "Well... I guess I'll ask the same if you're okay with it."

A quick, unnerving shiver went through me, but if he told me about himself, I guess he deserves an answer too. I shuffled uncomfortably in my seat, thinking about how to answer. "You don't have to answer if you don't want to," Luke added, to comfort me a little which did work.

"Well- I- Uhm-," It was hard to get the words out, it really wasn't a nice memory for me. "While... While I was in School, I never found myself too, well- I couldn't get along with the other children there. I liked so many unusual and weird things I guess nobody wanted anything to do with me. I got through school as, I guess, the quiet kid until it was the final few days of public school. I'd- uhm- I'd been gathering- uhm- S-Sorry..."

Luke sat for a moment before moving his paw to my upper back with a sympathetic expression, he gave me time to compose myself before I continued. "I guess I'd been... discovering things about myself and thought I was confident that I, well, I wasn't really *straight* anymore. I'd been gathering confidence to come out to my parents. On the last day I... I waited specifically, all day to find them in the same room and... I told them. I guess they didn't really like that. I-I was given enough time to find an apartment and they gave me rent money and still do but- uhm- I got kicked out pretty quickly." It really felt as if I was tearing up as my eyes felt wet and waves of sadness brushed through me as I said more. I tried to hold back and fight my tears, but it kept getting harder. "I, just- Now I live here and, I never felt like doing anything or going anywhere. I never spoke to anyone. I never made friends. It just feels like I was betrayed by the people who I guess are meant to be there for you. I-It's been about... two years since then and I just, I can't seem to get out of that puzzle because I don't know how, because I never learned..." Cold, wet tears had begun to fall down my face before I had even noticed. I brought my knees up to my damply furred face and buried myself in them.

I felt the hesitant feeling of Luke's dark, soft, warm and embracing paw interlock with my own free paw laying on the sofa. I trembled at the feeling of his paw, before just accepting it. "I guess I'm fine I live on my own, but I just wish they were there for me instead of just, forcing me to leave..." I spoke, unable to fight my tears anymore as I spoke into my knees.

Luke sat with a sympathetic yet pondering expression. The warm feeling of his paw made me feel safer. "Sam... I don't know what to say, but I'm here to listen. You can trust me." Luke said, letting his eyes meet to mine as I moved my head to look at him. Though looking into his eyes, he looked scared, or worried, but I don't think he really knew what to do or how to cheer me up.

I honestly still don't know why I'm telling him all of this. I guess I didn't have anyone to talk to for the longest time. Or maybe because of that, I didn't know how to take things slow and that I was bothering him. I think the former is better

There wasn't much else I could really say. I'd let out a lot of my emotions and all I could do now is sit with blurred vision and damp knees, tears strolling down my furred face.

"Hey, uhm, Sam?" I took my focus back towards Luke, keeping silence through sniffles.

To my surprise, Luke gently embraced me, pulling me onto him in a close hug. I was hesitant for a moment, before laying with him, embracing him back as tears slowly rolled down my face. My head laid against his soft, puffy chest. I held him tightly, making sure my chest spike was always to the side of him.

I looked up towards him, he looked back down at me. I could tell he was worried for me, even if he didn't know what to do. He cared about me. That's new to me, I didn't know what to do. It made me feel warm inside. The tears on my face didn't feel like much anymore. I could feel and hear his heartbeat, but it was weird, it was rhythmic along with mine. Gosh, that sounds so cliché, but it was true. The tears didn't mean much anymore, it was just us and that's all that I could focus on. The tears were drying now but still came down slowly.

I adjusted myself slightly, lifting myself up to him a little more, still holding him tightly as I rested a little under his chin. I could feel the dried tears on my face, but the warmth of him and the heart-warming feeling he gave me made me feel better inside.

I was laying a little to the side of him as to keep my chest spike from hurting him, though I felt him shuffle for a moment as he brought his face to meet mine. And, as if it was in the heat of the moment, he brought his lips to mine. Luke kissed me. He kissed me on the lips. And I didn't protest at all. I laid there with him; arms wrapped around each other comfortably laying on a ragged sofa with the welcoming moonlight beginning to shine through the half-open blinds to the outside world. Though that didn't matter, my world was centred around this moment.

I shut my eyes as our lips touched, bringing each other into a loving kiss. He lit up my world so suddenly. He'd been so kind to me like nobody else had. Only in a few days too. I knew it was ridiculous for us to do this only a few days in, but nothing else mattered to me.

I don't remember the kiss ending, all I remember was the moonlight shining into the room, the only light having made by the blue TV light we planned to watch a movie on.

I felt Luke's tall body against mine, his furry arms holding me close as I enjoyed the moment between us. And, finally, just as suddenly as it had started, I dozed off, lips connected with my only friend as he held me in his arms, and I held him in mine. The last and only other thing I could notice was the sound of our hearts together, beating _together_.


End file.
